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What's the best way to respond to my toddler's first words? - The Speech Lab

By 18 months, your toddler might be starting to say a lot of single words - often naming things that they see, hear and touch.

But what's the best way to respond to them? Can you help them to build their skills more quickly through the way you respond?

Dr Saloni Krishnan put it to the test in our speech lab, with the help of mum Melissa and her son Zane.

Check out the results of her experiment below.

Try the best response experiment at home

Want to test out ways of responding to your toddler in real time? Our speech lab experiment is a simple way of seeing how responding in certain ways with your toddler can lead to them talking and interacting with you in different ways.

Firstly, try setting up a simple game of 'What's in the bag">